Do you have diet disconnect?

When it comes to diet and exercise, there seems to be a gap between wanting to do what’s right and actually doing it. A recent survey from the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation finds many people have a lot of “disconnects” about calories, fats, fitness… and more. IFIC talks to FatFighterTV about what needs to happen to bridge these gaps.

Check out some of the “disconnects” the survey found:

Counting Calories:
69-percent of Americans who are trying to eat a healthier diet say they are doing so to lose weight…
BUT only 15 percent know the number of calories they should have each day.

Wow – when I saw that, I was pretty shocked. And IFIC dietitian, Elizabeth B. Rahavi, RD says this is something that surprised her yet again.

“Although we are in the third year of this research it is still interesting to see that consumers have a difficult time providing us with the amount of calories they should consume in a day,” says Rahavi. “It is easy to think that people know a lot about food because they eat it everyday! We need to do more to educate people about calories, so that they can begin to make these connections in their head, which ultimately will help them make better food choices that fit in their lifestyle.”

Here are two more disconnects from the survey:

Dietary Fats:
Consumers are very concerned about the types and amounts of fats they include in their diet and they are more aware of trans fats than ever (91 percent)…
BUT more than 60 percent don’t understand that there are healthy fats, as well.

Diet & Physical Activity:
70-percent of Americans say they exercise to lose or maintain their weight…
BUT nearly half (44 percent) of them do not “balance diet and physical activity” to manage their weight.

It seems like a lot of the information on diet and fitness has been out there for years but the results show Americans still don’t “get it.” So what’s it going to take for that to happen?

“I think this goes back to the calories question. If Americans don’t understand how many calories they need in a day, then they don’t understand how to increase physical activity to achieve weight-loss,” explains Rahavi. “The key is for people and trainers/nutritionists to be realistic with each other by asking the question: What are the small changes I can make today that I can sustain over a long period of time?”

Rahavi says it’s important to tailor information to each person’s own lifestyle and understanding of nutrition, as well.

The IFIC survey also includes information about caffeine, food additives, and food labeling.

How about you - do you have any diet or exercise “disconnects?” Do you know how many calories you need each day to lose or maintain your weight?